dsw
commented
5 years ago This is not going to work. What you propose is a severe instance of "creeping feature-ism": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_creep
The whole point of Proquints is to be first and foremost an encoding for computer data, and, as such, we do not want it changing between localities, just as we do not change (substantially) the notation for numerical digits between localities. That is, while we want to encode data in a way that is both (1) computer-friendly and (2) human-friendly, purpose (1) has priority over purpose (2). (It must be this way, as both purposes cannot be simultaneously satisfied as much as people might want.) As such, Proquints must be encoded/decoded from binary in a universal, simple, and efficient manner. Proquints are expressed in manageable chunks of information that can be easily said (somehow) and are therefore easily remembered, but only to the degree that the first purpose, that of a canonical data encoding, not be compromised.
Proquints is not the International Phonetic Alphabet. Like it or not, the universal format of computer data is Latin/ASCII alphabet. Further, we do not have universal pronunciation even within English, much less across all languages: I once met An American, an Australian, and a Brit who had such heavy accents that the Brit had to translate between the other two in English. Attempting to cater to more languages in any way whatsoever is unworkable, even ones having Latin alphabets. For example, in Hungarian "s" is pronounced like English "sh" and Hungarian "sz" is pronounced like English "s"; even crazier, Hungarian "dzs" is pronounced like English "j" (as in "jungle", which Hungarians actually spell starting with "dzs"). Therefore user(s) of Proquints must choose a pronunciation if Proquints are to be spoken between them, or even just if remembered verbally (rather than visually) by a single person over time.
Again, I never said how you are to pronounce the given letters; you really just need a distinct and context-free pronunciation for each. I recommend the Italian pronunciation for the vowels, as singers use when singing, since they are pure and distinct and sound nice. For the consonants, I recommend picking something simple for you, such as perhaps an exaggerated pronunciation of American English, and checking that you have chosen a distinct and context-free pronunciation for each letter. Again, remember to pronounce the letters in a context-free manner, independent of any special rules for words that may arise: for example, "laser" is "la s er", not "laZ er".
DonaldTsang
Some design choices: